By Madison Bloomquist/For Murphy News Service

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just eat meat?”

“How do you get your protein?”

“Isn’t produce expensive?”

“I would starve if I were you!”

Vegetarians at the University of Minnesota and beyond have been hearing these questions and comments for years. Many people are flabbergasted that it could be possible to eat a healthy but meat-free diet. They are convinced vegetarians will eventually see the light and begin eating pork, beef and chicken again. The growing number of vegetarians on the U campus and in the United States, though, show vegetarianism is more than just a passing fad.

Minneapolis was named one of the most vegetarian-friendly cities in North America by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in 2006. The article’s author praised the wide variety of vegetarian-friendly grocery stores and restaurants in Minneapolis and even discussed how much Compassionate Action for Animals, a community group based at the University of Minnesota, adds to the city’s vegetarian community. The Twin Cities area still lives up to the standard nine years later,  local vegetarians say, adding that living without meat on campus and in the Twin Cities is not only possible, but healthy and satisfying.

College dining halls across the country are notorious for serving gray and overcooked meat that could be either pork or turkey, but the U’s University Dining Services (UDS) purposefully provides a wide variety of selections for everyone, including vegetarians.

Jenna Brott, UDS’s health and wellness coordinator, said student feedback is crucial for designing popular vegetarian menus. UDS wants to know what people want—and its staff responds to students’ answers.

Brott said UDS has recently added more options, including kale and a larger variety of protein sources, to each dining hall per students’ requests. They have also increased the use of vegetarian crumble, a soy version of ground beef, and mock chicken, soy seasoned to taste like chicken, in all dining halls’ main menu options for lunch and dinner.

Each dining hall is required to have at least one vegan option per meal in the “home-style” stations—and no, the salad bar does not count, Brott promised. There are typically other vegetarian meal choices as well. Brott said items marked vegetarian or vegan are guaranteed to be meat-free, but vegetarian items may have dairy or egg products. Vegan selections will never have any animal products added.

Other stations also have meat-free options. If vegetarian students do not see something they want, they can speak up.

“There are a few things that they can request at certain stations if they don’t see something on the menu, like a veggie burger at the grill station,” Brott said. Students can also request vegetarian or vegan options at exhibition and sandwich stations.

University Dining Services also works to make campus restaurants more vegetarian-friendly. Many restaurants in the Minnesota Marketplace, the food court in the U’s student union, clearly state which meals on the menus are vegetarian. Brott specifically mentioned Greens to Go and Cranberry Farms as vegetarian-friendly and said there will always be a meatless pizza option at Topio’s.

Freshii, a chain café new to the basement of Moos Tower, is also a popular restaurant for vegetarians on campus. It offers a wide variety of freshly made juices, quinoa and brown rice bowls, soups, salads and wraps. Meat-lovers can add chicken, steak or tuna to their meals, but nearly everything is vegetarian before potential additions. Most menu items are between $8 and $12; however, they could cost more if customers choose to add meat, falafel or tofu to their meals.

“I know that if I’m willing to spend the money, I’m getting a filling and healthy meal [at Freshii] that surpasses anything I can get in the dining hall on most days,” Meredith Gingold, a freshman vegetarian at the U, said.

Vegetarian students also say they appreciate restaurants in the Twin Cities that cater to vegetarians. Gingold’s favorite is Hard Times Café near the Carlson School of Management on the West Bank. The café has a vegan bakery and a full menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner options.

“I love Hard Times because they have such a wide selection of vegetarian food and it’s not expensive at all,” Gingold said. “There are board games and vegan cookies and all kinds of great things inside!”

McKenzie Lukacs, a sophomore vegetarian at the U, prefers East Bank’s restaurant selection. Her favorites are Abdul’s Afandy, a small Middle-Eastern restaurant in Stadium Village, and Wally’s Falafel and Hummus, a Mediterranean café in Dinkytown. While neither restaurant is completely vegetarian, she said there are more than enough meatless options. Lukacs added, “Wally’s falafels are so, so very good!”

It is not difficult for most vegetarians to find options on campus and in the Twin Cities, but they still must monitor what they eat to maintain healthy diets. Lukacs is a varsity rower at the U and has to work hard to eat healthily. “I am super conscientious about my protein intake,” she said. “I see a dietitian and have a very specific meal plan [so] I don’t lose muscle. I count the grams of protein I eat and also supplement with protein powder and protein bars.” Lukacs adds iron supplements and other vitamins so she is sure not to miss out on any vital parts of a healthy diet.

Armonia Balch, a junior rower at the U, is also familiar with balancing athletics and a healthy vegetarian diet. “In the past, it has been really difficult to eat right while burning so many calories,” she said. “Getting enough protein and iron takes a lot of effort and planning. Most days during the summer, I would eat a whole container of hummus immediately after practice!” Balch said she had trouble finding a variety of protein sources to eat when she first got to college, but has since discovered what she can eat on campus and in the Twin Cities, which has improved her diet.

Since some students have trouble keeping up with vegetarian lifestyles when they get to campus, peer support systems can help create a sense of community. Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA) is a vegetarian and vegan group made up of students and community members that meets at the U twice each month. The group typically has 10 members at each meeting. They share recipes, discuss their favorite restaurants and spread awareness for the benefits of vegetarianism and veganism.

Freshman vegan Hanna Brustad has been an active member of CAA since September 2014. She said the group does several campus events in which the members usually give out vegan food samples with brochures about animal cruelty and the benefits of eating meatless diets. They also show videos of factory farming to increase the public’s understanding of how grocers get meat, Brustad said.

The main event CAA produces is Veg Fest, an annual celebration of vegetarianism in the Twin Cities. Brustad said Veg Fest brings vegetarians and vegans from across the Twin Cities area together each fall in Coffman Memorial Union to share food, stories and tips about how to lead healthy and cruelty-free lives. Vendors sell and give samples of food, chefs give cooking demos and lessons, and various vegetarians in the community give speeches.

“Last year was the first year I volunteered at and attended Veg Fest, and I loved it,” Brustad said. “I tried a lot of free food and talked with some really interesting people. Overall, I think it’s important to have events like this in the area because it also [makes] for more connections within the community.”

Vegetarians will probably always have to answer the seemingly obvious questions: why they do not eat meat, how they find protein sources and whether they will ever eat meat again. Most get used to the questions a few months after they become vegetarians. Once people know their options, it is easy to see that there are healthy and appetizing meatless options. Herbivores and omnivores alike can enjoy quinoa bowls at Freshii, vegan biscuits and gravy at Hard Times Café and mock duck samples at Veg Fest. There are hundreds of options right here.

Gingold acknowledged being a vegetarian is rarely the easiest option, but she still appreciates the strong vegetarian community in the Twin Cities.

“I feel like the Twin Cities are as good of a place as any to be a vegetarian—if not the best place,” she said.

Reporter Madison Bloomquist is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.